Quoth the Raven
by Helkauiel
Summary: A RaeRob collab between myself and a dear friend of mine, SirLynnoftheFred. Sorting out your feelings is a lot harder when your emotions can manifest physically in your mind. How will Raven deal with this new problem, and someone else's too?
1. Introduction

It's been one week since the end of the world

It's been one week since two of my best friends got together.

And it's been one week since I realized I was in love.

I'm sitting in my room, staring at the dark walls. All alone. Just like always. Even meditation seems too much of a burden to attempt now. Ever since I fulfilled my destiny, controlling my emotions has become nearly impossible. But they don't destroy; if I laugh, nothing explodes. A definite improvement in my book, but it's still unfamiliar. I really need to get used to this. Do I really need to be controlling my emotions anymore? Now that my father's gone, what's the danger? I kind of wish I could go back. Back to the place I couldn't feel. Because one feeling is killing me inside, and I can't hold it back like the others.

I guess I started falling for him on my birthday. What a day. If it weren't for him, who knows what would have happened? He brought me back, physically and mentally. I'm only here because of him. His unfailing hope in me... I still don't understand it. And when I told him about my father, I guess that's the first time I really opened up to him. No, that's a lie. Maybe I started falling for him before that. Who knows, maybe it was the day I went inside his mind. Seeing his fears, hopes, dreams, everything that made him Robin, revealed a side I had rarely seen.

That day, that fateful day... when I saw him that morning, something stirred...a feeling I had never had before. I wanted that day to be perfect, for him and the others, but mostly him. I never wanted it to end, literally. When it was time, when the markings were once again in place, he held me in his arms. I felt so vulnerable and weak, I broke down and cried. I never cry. Especially not in front of my friends, but there was the exception. I wanted so badly to make it not happen, that I lost control. They tried so hard to stop him from getting me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

It almost killed me to have to hurt them to protect them. I knew what had to be done, and

I knew that they would figure out what to do. I still can't believe that they followed me to the old library. When Robin held me by my hand and told me that he would always be my friend, I wanted to take it all back once again. I just couldn't let them get hurt, that's why I had to prevent them from trying to stop me. I would rather die than have them get hurt because of me. I don't really know what happened next, only that I became the portal and disappeared. Then a part of me was all that was left. I prayed for my friends' safety. I know, the daughter of a demon praying seems odd, but I know that there's an opposite side to the balance, too.

When he found me, I didn't know who he was. Only that he seemed vaguely familiar. When he started telling me the story it all came flooding back to me. I had lost my powers then, the ones 'gifted' to me by my father. I told him that I wasn't who he thought I was anymore. But he didn't care. He still wanted to be my friend, despite everything I had done he still believed in me. I think that realization that he wasn't going to give up on me was the last straw. It made me realize that I did love him. So when we finally got back to the others, I was ready to do anything in my power to save them. Though I knew I didn't have much to fight with. When they finally got to my father, I realized that there was something that could be done.

I gathered all the power I had left in me and sought my revenge for the pain my so called father had inflicted on me and my loved ones. "Fathers protect you, fathers raise you. I was protected by the monks of Azarath. I was raised by my friends." Was what I said to him. And I meant it. When it was all over, I turned to the one who had never given up on me. When he held me in his arms again, I felt like there was nothing in the world that could touch us.


	2. And So It Begins

I don't own Teen Titans, so don't bug me. grumbles I sure wish I did though...

Chapter 1

She sat on the roof of Titans Tower, meditating but she let her magic allow her mind to explore the tower. Beast Boy was playing video games while Cyborg sat on hand and waited his turn. Since that day, the pair had seemed more mature. Raven's mind left the living room and strayed into Starfire's room. She found her sprucing and singing (at least, she assumed it was singing) as she put pictures of Robin on her walls and dressers. Raven turned away. She drifted through the tower and found Robin in his room, staring out the window. His left arm was resting on the window slightly above his head with his forehead resting on it. His eyes were slightly squinted, but he was staring off into space. He felt her presence and started.

"Raven." He said quietly.

Her mind raced back into her body as Raven awoke with a start, panicked. She saw Robin come out onto the roof. "Raven?" Robin asked, "Were you, were you just in my room?"

"Umm, sort of. I was just..." She trailed off.

With a sigh of relief Robin said dryly as he ran his fingers through his dark hair, "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't losing my mind."

"You shouldn't sound so sure, Boy Blunder. Just because you didn't imagine this doesn't mean you're still sane." Raven dead panned.

"Ha ha ha. That was so funny I forgot-"

"Finish that sentence and you suffer."

"Whatever." Robin rolled his eyes. "I'll be downstairs if you want to-"

Raven had already returned to her lotus position. As he walked back inside the steel T, she sighed. She wished she could just talk to him. 'I guess things are better if I just stay away from him since I don't want my emotions to..." There was a crash as the vent behind her fell in a wave of black energy. "Damnit." Raven sighed. She sighed again and walked back downstairs into the tower. As she walked down the stairs, she walked straight into an argument between Beast Boy and Cyborg. About what, she didn't know.

"I can't believe you did that! What were you thinking?"

"Hey," retorted Beast Boy, "You would have done the same thing!"

"No, I wouldn't!"

"Would the both of you just stop?" Interrupted Raven with an irritated edge in her voice. They both went silent. She had noticed since her father's attack everyone in the Tower seemed to want her to be happy. They listened better now and gave her more space. It made her feel a little uncomfortable, like right now.

Raven turned away and said quietly, "I didn't mean... Whatever. I'll be in my room." Beast Boy and Cyborg followed her with their eyes as she exited. She went to her room and as the door whooshed shut sat on her bed, unsure of what to do. She could feel a slight stirring in her emotions, so since she had nothing better to do, she decided to take a trip to Nevermore. Raven got up and walked to her dresser where her mirror sat and looked into it. A pair of eyes, not the four red ones of her Anger, but two wide, happy looking eyes stared back.

After Raven had left, the other Titans had all found themselves in the living room, unsure of what to do.

"Does Raven seem different to you guys?" asked Beast Boy as he sprawled his lanky green form on the sofa.

Cyborg retorted, "Of course she's different. Wouldn't you be if you almost destroyed the world?" He frowned; a feeling of over protectiveness had grown for the little Goth girl. She was like the sister he never had.

Starfire suggested, "Maybe she needs 'the talk'?"

"That's a good idea," Nodded Robin. "But let me talk to her, ok Star?" As the group's leader made his way to Raven's room, he wondered what to do. 'What should I say?' He reflected. 'That we're all worried about you?' With a wry smile he thought, 'She'd probably kill me then and there. Well, here goes nothing.' The door opened for him without his knocking and saw Raven looking into a mirror. He tentatively walked over to her. She didn't turn around.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Black energy jumped out of the mirror and began to pull Raven into its glassy surface. Robin, with his hand on her shoulder got pulled in with her. The two landed with a thud on a rock in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.

"What do you think you're-Oh! It's you." Raven had just started to reprimand whoever decided to invade her privacy when she saw Robin on his knees from the fall.

"Sorry, I uh, was just coming to, uh," Robin trailed off, unsure if he should continue.

She blinked. "Coming to what?"

"Hi!" Yelled Raven. But it wasn't, couldn't have been Raven. She was wearing pink and the biggest expression of joy Robin had ever seen on a face before.

He blinked in disbelief. "Umm, who are you?" Robin asked, quite confused.

"She's me." Raven replied. "Just a very happy, pink me. Meet my Happy side." As the pink cloaked girl skipped merrily in circles around them, she whispered, "Can you guess why that's an emotion I avoid?" Robin snickered slightly, amused as he stood up.

Happy Raven squealed. "Ooooh! I've been DYING to meet you! As a matter of fact, we all wanted to meet you! Especially mhmmph!" Raven clamped her hand over the bubbly emotion's mouth with an expression of horror on her face.

She turned to Robin. "Enough, I just want to get you out of here as fast as we can. I'll have to see what's going on later." She started walking as the rocks on the ground formed an arch covered bridge into Happy's realm. Robin followed with Happy in tow.

Happy floated up to Raven and chattered, "Well, just in case you do want to know what's happening, after you talk to Intelligence, talk to Love. She's been getting all worked up lately. Oh, and Anger. She's got some stuff she wants to say too."

"Great." Raven rubbed her temples and grumbled. "Just great."

By this time, Robin had figured out enough to know that this business was none of his own. He said, "Look Raven, I don't want to hold you back. If there's something you need to do, don't let me stand in the way. Besides," he grinned, "I get to see a little more of what's going on in _your_ head this time."

The three continued forward until they passed under another archway. Raven veered left under yet another arch and into what looked like a library. There were rows upon rows of books. In front of the short sides of the book shelves there was a circle of big, squishy, red leather chairs with lights that gave off a soft yellow glow. Out from behind a pile of books popped a yellow cloaked and bespectacled version of Raven.

"Oh, hello Raven." She said as she blinked at herself from behind her glasses.

"Hey Intelligence!" cried Happy as she embraced her counterpart. "What's up?"  
Intelligence sighed. "Now Happy, please don't perform your usual behavior of turning everything in here upside down. It took me two weeks to put all the books back correctly last time you visited." She cautioned knowingly. "Sit." And they did.

"So, what's going on that Raven's here?" Robin asked his team mates colorful counterparts.

"I'd appreciate it if you would NOT interfere in my mind anymore than you already have." Raven barely hid the tint in her cheeks with the shadow of her cloak. "Talk." She demanded of Intelligence.

With a cough to clear her throat, Intelligence began. "Well Rae, ever since Trigon was defeated, you can now, oh how can I put this? Feel? Your emotions will start to affect your power less and less, that is unless you call upon our help to strengthen you." Raven's purple eyes glowed with what seemed like a spark of hope that had not been there before. No longer would she have to be the outsider.

Intelligence continued, "You will still need to meditate, but just less often. Oh, I have a warning for you as well." She leaned forward and said in a low voice, "When you meet Anger, you will know what I'm talking about."

Raven seemed excited and frightened of what Intelligence had revealed to her, but stood up anyway. "Well, if that's what I needed to know, we'll just be on our way. I need to get Robin out of here." She looked at Happy, who had long since gone to skipping between the aisles and implored her yellow cloaked self, "Can I leave Happy with you?"

"Of course." But before you go Robin, please be careful."

"Why?" Robin asked in confusion. He had no idea why exactly he was in danger in what must have been Raven's mind. Why else would she have counterparts with the names of emotions? Intelligence merely turned and walked back through her books.

"Do you see why it's easier not to feel?" Raven said so quietly Robin wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it. They walked out of the library and from there walked down a path laced with thorns and fire.

'Wow.' Robin thought as they walked. 'I had no idea Raven was this complicated and I've only met two sides of her so far. I wonder what else she's hiding...'

Raven's cheeks turned pink as she looked at him and said with an eyebrow raised. "You know I can hear you right? You're in _my_ mind after all." Robin blushed red as well. Raven sighed. "Just be glad your thoughts can't manifest themselves as people."

Through the next arch was a pit of fire with a rock bridge suspended across the burning flames. A blood red throne sat upon a stone platform at the other end. Perched upon it was Anger. The red cloaked, four-eyed and most frightening side of Raven looked down at them with a malicious smile. Raven and Robin climbed the marble stairs that led to the platform, after tentatively crossing the bridge licked by fire. When they reached the top, Anger spoke.

"I am not happy about the reform." Her voice was cold and harsh, making Raven's usual voice seem by contrast sweet and melodic. "I don't want to be your servant, there for you to give you _my_ power at _your _will. You can't control me!"

Her amethyst eyes flashed at her darker side. "I already control you." She said quite calmly. "You might as well get used to it." Raven looked to Robin. She said wryly, "You'll have to excuse her. She's not accustomed to boundaries, even after all these years." Turning back to Anger, she continued, "Now, if that's all you have to say, I'll be leaving. I have other things to sort out."

"Not so fast!" And a red hand of energy shot out and grabbed Robin, pinning his arms and legs down to his sides as red forks of lightning began to crawl over his body. He struggled to break free, but he could not. The bonds were too strong and paralyzed him whilst he was in the grip of the hand.

Raven screamed, panic written all over her face. "Robin!"

"I've had a little chat with Love." Anger smirked. "Next time, don't leave your precious bird boy so unprotected. Now, un-do the reform or it's bye-bye birdie!" The red energy began to tighten around Robin's throat and he gasped for breath as he struggled to break free.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

"AHHH!" The red-cloaked figure was suspended in mid-air for a moment by Raven's black energy before being thrown angrily into the back of the throne. Anger slumped down half-way off the seat, unconscious.

Robin fell to the ground hands bracing himself as he struggled to inhale again. "Robin!" Raven cried again before running to his side. She held out her hand and he grasped it as he stood up and dusted himself off. Raven felt her cheeks burn at the feel of his hand in hers.

"I'm alright." Robin waved her concern away, coughing a little.

Raven's eyes were wide and she put her arm around his shoulder to hold him up in case he fell. The action was on impulse, but she could not deny the sweet feeling of being so close to him. "I am so sorry Robin, I didn't think-"

The black haired teen shook his head with a little smile. He reassured her, standing upright on his own. "Raven, it's really ok." Seeing how upset the grey little Goth girl had gotten, Robin asked, "Would you like to keep going so we can go home?"

She took a calming breath and seemed to return to normal. "This way." Raven replied quietly. The pair continued to walk beyond Anger and into another arch way, and into what looked like Valentine's Day had come early. There were pink and red roses everywhere and the pathway they were walking on was a violent shade of maroon. To say Love was in the air would have been the tragic understatement of the century. Out from behind what appeared to be pink floating hearts came a smiling and rosy pink colored version of Raven.

Raven coughed. "Um, hi Love. I see you... Re-decorated the place. It's very bright... Why?"

Love chirped happily, "'Cause you're falling in L-O-V-E! I'm SO excited!" That was the moment she laid eyes on Robin. "Oh my GOD! It's him! He's here! He's really here!" Raven clamped her hand over Love's mouth before she could continue her eruption of joy.

Fortunately, Robin hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation going on as he was busy observing the explosion of the Hallmark Card factory that had come to haunt that place quite closely.

Raven, whose hand was still over Love's mouth, dragged her counterpart behind an enormous rose bush that appeared about seven feet tall.

"Alright Love, talk. What in Azarath's name is going on?" The blue cloaked girl demanded.

Rolling her eyes as though Raven was slow, Love smiled simperingly. "You're falling in love with Robin, that's what silly!" She giggled and began to sing, "L is for the way you look at him! O is for the only one you see! V is very, very extraordinary! And E is even more than anyone that you adore can love-"

"Finish that song and suffer a fate worse than Beast Boy." Raven threatened in a deadly voice that did nothing to faze the pink girl beside her. "Why are you affected by this so-called 'Reform'? My father is gone, so why do you get to be free all of a sudden?"

"Be-cause," Love accentuated the syllables, "Love conquers all! Anger is not your most powerful emotion anymore. I am!" She beamed. "And I'm warning you now that it's going to be a bumpy ride if you don't tell Robin how you feel. I'll tease you all the time! And If I ever get tired," She giggled, "I can always call Lust and have _her_ take over. That would be even more fun!"

Raven groaned. The only emotion she feared more than Love was Lust, because Lust might make her do something she'd regret the next morning. "Why can't I just make you go away?" She moaned as she rubbed her temples.

"As long as you love him, I will be the most prominent force in your mind. Like Anger and Fear, I can affect your powers for better or worse. You'll just have to decide when I'm a good force or bad yourself." Beamed Love.

Robin snapped out of the entrancement of the pinks and fuchsias around him and noticed Raven's absence. "Raven, where are you?" He called curiously.

With a warning glance to the girl in pink, Raven warned, "We'll talk later, when he's not around." She walked out from behind the bush.

"Calm down, Boy Blunder." Raven drawled. "If you would take your head out of your ass for a second, you would have noticed I wasn't here about five minutes ago. Not that I can blame you for being distracted." She eyed the heart shaped pillows and chairs strewn about and grimaced. "Come on." Raven said with a sigh. "We should get back. We've probably been gone over an hour by now." She started walking forward but stopped as Robin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Rae?" He questioned her gently, almost... No. 'Not lovingly' Raven though. 'Just because you're in Love's place doesn't mean you can spin things that way.' She reprimanded herself.

"What?" Raven asked, irritated; but not at him.

"Um," Her tone had made him question what he was about to say. But he decided her might as well just go ahead and say it anyway. 'Haven't you seen enough to know she needs someone to lean on? Go for it!' His conscience goaded. "Rae," Robin said slowly, "I just wanted you to know that, that the entire team and I are always here for you when you need us. You've been acting strange lately, and I wanted to, um, is there a chance we could talk when we get back?" He spit out the last part so fast that Raven almost couldn't understand him.

She looked away. "I don't know." Raven said quietly. "I don't usually 'talk' with other people. I think I'll be fine without your help." She felt a seed of bitterness enter her words. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting back to Starfire?"

"Now that you mention it," Whether it was Love's influence to be true to your heart or Raven's unspoken love for Robin, no one knew, but he felt compelled to tell his friend the truth. "I don't know if I can keep things going like this. I mean, I care a lot of Starfire and everything, but I think this might be too much for the both of us. We don't mix well. I never know what to say when she starts asking questions, and then it's just awkward." He grinned wryly, "What advice can you give me, oh wise one?" He asked jokingly.

Raven's amethyst eyes fell to the ground beneath her feet. "You're asking the wrong person." She said with a slight catch in her voice. With that, she walked to the Forbidden Door not too far in the distance and through the portal. Robin followed closely, not wanting to be left behind.

In a swirl of colors, they tumbled out of the mirror on Raven's bed. Raven landed on her back, and Robin fell on top of her; just putting his legs and arms to the side of her.

"Ah-" said Robin as he tried, and failed, to get up. For a moment that felt like an eternity, Robin and Raven stared into each others eyes. There was an intensity between them, a bond not to be broken. As Raven stared into his mask, she could still feel his thoughts. They were thoughts that puzzled her; they were jumbled together. He stared back into her violet eyes. The two moved closer, their faces almost touching. Both were scarcely breathing. It was Robin who moved closer to brush his lips against Raven, a lingering feathery kiss.

"Yo Rae! Time for dinner!" Cyborg's voice could be heard through the little intercom by her door. Raven blushed. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as Robin slowly got off of her. There was a silence that had permeated the room, neither wanted to speak but only watch the other.

He was silently reprimanding himself. 'What was I thinking? How could I do that to Raven, to Star? And poor Rae is still getting used to having emotions... I'm such an idiot.'

"Robin, I-" Raven started.

"Hey Rae! Robin! Where are you guys!" Beast Boy's voice now could be heard over the intercom and cut her off.

"We should go." Robin said softly, breaking the silence. "They're waiting for us to start dinner." With one last look at Raven with an unintelligible look behind his mask, Robin headed out the door and down the stairs to where they others were waiting. Raven waited a few moments before she sighed in resignation and walked out.

She arrived at the door to the main room shortly thereafter. When she opened it, everyone hastily stopped whatever conversation they were in the midst of.

"What?" Raven shook her head in wry amusement. "I walk in in and suddenly you're all at a loss for words?" She chuckled, "Maybe I should do this more often." With that, conversation resumed. It was a normal dinner, salad for BB and chicken for everyone else. There was the usual tofu vs. meat argument between Cy and Beast Boy that the others merely shook their heads at.

Star was behaving in her now typical lovey-dovey manner with Robin. Raven ate silently, still muddling through all she had learned and what happened that afternoon.

After everyone had finished eating, they settled themselves on the couch as it was Movie Night. It had been Cy's turn to pick and he chose The Core, a sci-fi flick about a team made of an inventor, a scientist, a computer hacker, and some government employees that had to start the rotation of the Earth back up when it stopped. It was cool enough, Raven decided.


	3. Things Unasked For

Chapter 2

After the movie was over, the Titans bid each other goodnight, not bothering to conceal their yawns and exhaustion. Raven found her eyes closing before she even pulled off her cloak to climb in bed. She snuggled herself under her midnight blue sheets and drifted off to sleep, the masked face of Robin floating behind her eyes.

_She was running, but no matter how far she ran He was always right beside her._

"_My darling daughter," His voice crooned in a voice that could make the very mountains tremble, "No one can help you now."_

_Just as He was about to grasp her by the throat He disappeared. She was alone. Aimlessly now she wandered, simply trying to find someone else to be with._

'_There is no one.' She thought desperately, 'I am alone, just as the prophecy said.'_

"_Oh really?" A new voice came from behind her. She spun around and was prepared to attack, but she saw not Him but Robin, standing there with a comforting smile. "I'm here, so I guess you're not alone after all." She found herself being pulled into his arms, by some force other than either of the teenagers. His arms wrapped around her waist, and she buried her face in his collar._

"_Why?" She whispered._

"_Because I-"_

"YO CY!" Beast Boy yelled, "GET YOUR BACON AWAY FROM MY TOFU!"

Raven rolled over with a groan, pulling the sheet over her head in an attempt to go back to sleep. But with the commotion that came with breakfast in Titans Tower, she realized that sleep was not going to be an option. She sat up and stretched before running her brush through her hair. After pulling her cloak on, Raven was ready to head downstairs. As she came to the threshold of her door, she saw a piece of paper stuck under her door.

It said, 'After breakfast. The roof. R' Her heart fluttered inside her chest as she read the note in her hands.

'The team put him up to making sure I'm ok. That's all.' She tried to tell herself.

But a nasty little voice replied mockingly, 'Oh? Did the team tell him to kiss you too?'

'That wasn't...' Raven looked down at the paper and sighed. She might as well meet him; it wasn't like she had anything better to do. Or at least that's what she told herself.

After her breakfast of herbal tea and toast, Raven departed silently to go to the roof. As she arrived at the top, she had to squint her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. Her amethyst eyes studied the rooftop, she noted with confusion that Robin wasn't there. "So he invites me all the way up here and then doesn't show. That's nice." She uttered darkly to herself.

Suddenly, there was a thud and Robin was in front of her. In a rare moment of surprise, Raven swore at the boy, "Dammit! Did you really need to do that?"

Robin looked at her amusedly. "No, but it was funny."

She shot him a look that could wither flowers, and he just chuckled. "So, what am I doing here?" asked Raven, moving to look over the ledge of the Tower.

Robin followed her. "Well, the team, and well, I, um, we're... worried about you." He replied slowly.

Amethyst eyes followed the movement of the waves crashing on the shore. "Yeah. I know. So, why?"

"We're your friends."

"So? Then why do you stop talking when I come in the room? Why can't I so much as crack a joke without everyone thinking the world is going to end again?" Raven felt herself getting more and more frustrated as she spoke, her voice slowly rising to a yell. "I'm trying to deal with what happened more than you all and if you guys are really my friends you should be helping me through this. Not isolating me." She smashed her fists into the ledge and swiftly turned and tried to head back down the stairs.

But Robin stepped in front of her. "Rae, you should have told us you wanted us to... I mean, they-we, thought you would want your space, and that's what we gave you." He told her, masked eyes seeming to search hers. "But we will always be there for you when you need us."

"Sure." She whispered. "Of course." Without another word, Raven ducked down the stairs. She heard him try to open the door but she sealed it with her magic, the blackness unable to muffle Robin's pounding on it. Robin didn't need to see her cry. "Dammit! Damn these stupid emotions!" She swore quietly as she wiped new tears from her eyes. "Everything was so much easier when I didn't have to feel..."


	4. Battles Begin

Chapter 3

Raven walked through the door, pulled off her cape and hopped onto her bed. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." She drifted off slowly into the depths of her mind.

Suddenly she found herself in what appeared to be a bedroom. In the center of the rooms stood a large canopy bed covered n black satin sheets. Handcuffs dangled from the bedpost while along side the bed hung a whip. On all of the dark purple walls were posters and pictures of very attractive, very scantily clad men. In the far corner of the room was a small desk with a typewriter and seated at it was another aspect of Raven.

This version of her subconscious wore black stripper boots, a leather mini-skirt and a black tube top. She wore a black cape as well as a look of fierce concentration. With her legs propped up on the desk, she gazed at her hands poised on the keys.

Raven walked over to the typewriter and peered somewhat curiously over the previously unknown side of herself's shoulder to read. She read aloud, "His hand gently caressed her bosom as she pulled back the whip and struck him..." She stopped there. "Who the hell are you?" Inquired the slightly perturbed Goth girl through gritted teeth.

"I'm your guilty pleasure side, but you can just call me Lust." Smirked the slutty Raven, dropping her legs from the desk.

The real Raven stood there, rooted to the spot as she regained her composure. "Where did you come from? I don't remember you at all."

"Well of course not." Replied Lust in a sultry voice, "You had me locked up at puberty. One night with that one dream you damn near blew up Azarath. Then when you woke up, you banished me into a concealed part of your mind while forcing me to find a different outlet for my... usual activities. So I've been a smut writer ever since. I think I've got enough dirty books to keep you occupied for at least three years. This Robin guy has given me plenty to write about." She wandered to a large bookshelf. "Let's see, I've got 'A Night in the Robin's Nest', 'A Robin's Cry', a personal favorite of mine. It's very dominatrix-esque. Oh, and 'Raven's Guide to Robin's Pants'. That one has bestseller written all over it."

Raven's curiosity overruled her confusion for a moment. "Exactly how many books did you write about Robin?" She asked.

"Umm, about... 1, 2, 3... 32. I also have a screenplay that I'm working on. All of these could have been fantasies or dreams of yours, then again you probably would have killed all of the Titans in various ways had you thought of my most recent works. However," She grinned evilly, "Now that you can feel, I have a feeling that you'll be seeing a lot of my work."

She snapped as her cheeks flooded with color, "I don't even think about that kind of stuff."

"You don't, but I do." Lust retorted, "You actually would if you didn't block me from sending you all these dirty thoughts."

"Great." Replied Raven. "Just what I wanted to hear." She stared at the pictures on the wall and asked slowly, "How did you get all of these pictures anyway? I don't know any of those guys!"

"You also got rid of another side of you who I happen to know very well. If you talk to Imagination, you would be surprised what she can think up for you. I've been one of her only friends so you'll find her quite corrupt. She used to be likes that Starfire chick, all innocent. Now she's almost as dirty as me." Lust said with a look of pride.

Raven let all of this new information sink in for a moment. "I don't have time for this." She said eventually. "I'm going back to bed."

"You are in bed."

She drifted back into her room and thankfully into a deep and dreamless sleep. When Raven woke up the next morning, she has momentarily forgotten her mental escapades from the previous nights. She levitated out of her room and into the kitchen for breakfast. She settled down at the table to a bowl of cereal and cup of green tea and as she began to eat, Robin walked though the door in a t-shirt and boxers. Quickly the girl buried her gaze in her cereal.

"Morning Raven." Yawned Robin as he passed by.

She continued to stare at her cereal bowl. "Morning." She mumbled in response. She finished quickly and took a seat on the sofa with a book of poetry by Edgar Allen Poe. After barely a few minutes of relaxation, the alarm sounded.

"Titans, go!"

Raven sluggishly hauled herself off of the couch and phased through the floor as her comrades raced around trying to ready themselves for whatever was troubling Jump City.

The disturbance was apparently Johnny Rancid. This time, his choice for causing chaos was hurling explosives at anything that chanced by his hellish motorcycle.

Cyborg pulled Star, Beast Boy, and Raven aside and said quickly, "We gotta keep Robin under control, you guys know how much Rancid gets to him."

Starfire was happily about to do just that before Robin left them in the dust as he sped after the criminal on his R-cycle. "TITANS GO!" He screamed. The other Titans did as their leader bid and took off in pursuit.

"Well, at least a fight will distract me from thinking about Robin in his boxers... Too late." Raven slapped her forehead but then again, she wasn't entirely unhappy with the images that were floating through her mind. Johnny and his cycle swerved to lob explosives at the perfect targets that were the teenagers.

BB shifted into a gigantic green brontosaurus and charged towards him but was knocked aside by a larger explosive that Johnny apparently had in reserve. The boy-turned-dinosaur flew backwards; pinning himself, Cyborg and Starfire to a building. "C'mon man," Cy protested as he struggled in vain to free himself. "Couldn't you learn to shift into something smaller after you get hit?" The cyborg's enhanced strength was nowhere near enough to match the strength of the Jurassic.

The Tamaranian girl whimpered with a pout, "This is most unpleasant."

Their only response was a groan.

Raven rolled her eyes as she hovered nearby. She called, "To think, after all of our training, you still haven't learned to escape from a flying brontosaurus." She swooped around Rancid, deflecting anything he threw at her with her magic. A big smugly, she watched his growing frustration. Then she saw Robin's R-cycle getting dangerously close to Johnny Rancid's.

'Oh shit.' Raven thought hurriedly, 'He's going to do something stupid.' No sooner had the idea crossed her mind did Robin leap into the back of the other motorcycle. Punching and kicking between the Boy Wonder and Rancid was erratic and deadly on a cycle traveling upwards of 90 miles per hour.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Boy Blunder?" Rancid yelled at the teen.

She dove down to try and get her friend off of the deranged psychopath's bike. Somehow Johnny had managed to get an explosive ready to throw at her but before he could throw it, Robin hurled himself into Rancid. The force of the blow knocked them both off. As their bodies landed on the pavement with a sickening crunch, BB had finally managed to switch back to normal and the formerly trapped Titans gingerly massaged their aching ribs. They hadn't seen what she had.

"ROBIN!" Raven screamed in horror. She flew as fast as she could to where his body was mostly still. Raven turned pale as she desperately felt for a pulse. "No, Robin, stay with me," She pleaded. His eyes cracked open behind his mask. "Rae?" She could have wept with relief. "It's me, I'm here." Robin frowned, his eyes dazed and unfocused. "But, wha-, what about... Rancid?" "The others can handle him now." She soothed in a voice that was so unlike her own. She wrapped her arms around his torso and with her soul self ready to catch him should he slip, she sped off towards the Tower. Her heart was racing from a combination of adrenaline, fear, and the feeling of Robin in her arms. Cyborg saw the little Goth girl fly off with their leader. "Guess we're taking it from here." He said with a wolfish grin as the remaining three descended upon the stirring figure of Johnny Rancid.

Raven and Robin quickly arrived in the medical ward of the Tower and she gently laid him onto the bed. Tapping into her magical energy, she scanned Robin for any unseen injuries. To her relief, there was no major internal bleeding or trauma. The corner of her mouth smiled as she told him, "It's a good thing you're so hard-headed Boy Blunder, or the contents of your skull would currently be adorning the pavement. You're lucky you got out of that with just a concussion and some cuts and bruises."

"How come you never call me by my name?" Robin asked slowly.

She countered, "You just suffered a head injury, you're not thinking clearly." She was steadily becoming more and more uncomfortable.

He squinted, trying to keep her in focus. "No, I'm serious. I don't think you've called me Robin in a really long time."

"Come on, ROBIN. I was just teasing. I thought you knew that." Raven said softly, concern etching her face with a frown. "Well, I..." He trailed off as his sight grew even dimmer.

_ "Robin," A cold cruel voice sounded from behind him as a chill ran up his spine. This was the voice that still haunted his worst nightmares. Slade's vice-like grip on his shoulders paralyzed Robin with fear. "You didn't honestly think that you had seen the last of me, did you?" Those awful hands started to pull off Robin's uniform. "Please stop. I'm begging you, please!" Tears sprang to his eyes as the assassin moved closer. "I'll have you again."_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A terrible scream tore from the injured boy's throat as he woke with a start.


	5. Dealing With Demons

_Meanwhile, out on the streets..._

"This was too easy." BB smirked down at Rancid's stirring form.

"Speak for yourself, man." Cyborg massaged his mechanical ribs with a grimace. "I was on the receiving end of your bronto-butt!"

Starfire blinked. "Why are we discussing the large reptilian backside of Beast Boy?"

"Hey! It is neither large nor reptilian..." skulked Beast Boy

"Ok, stop with the butt-cracks," Cy warned. "Rancid looks like he's actually coming around." He let out a groan. "Don't you kids ever quit?"

"Nope," BB giggled. Starfire blasted Rancid once and he was out cold again.

_Back at the tower..._

Raven stared back at Robin in horror, looking as though she had been blindsided by a truck. Robin was still panting heavily.

"Robin?" Raven inquired, not sure of what to do next. His features switched from fearful to angry.

"It's nothing. I'm fine now. I'm going to my room." He shoved past her and staggered out the door.

Raven stared after him thinking about what she had just seen. 'No wonder he's so obsessive... That explains a lot of his behavior in the past few years.' she thought. 'And who knew that mental link was that strong despite being seperated for a year with the Doom Patrol?' She realized that that much emotional trauma couldn't be contained in one mind, and the bond she and Robin shared was a perfect way to siphon off his pain.

Even if Robin didn't realize he was doing it.

What Raven had just experience left her shaking and confused as to what to do next. She left the medical bay and walked into the main room as the other three Titans arrived home.

"Hey Rae," Cyborg said. "How's Robin? As hard-headed as he looks?" Beast Boy chuckled at this remark.

"He's..."Raven began, not sure how to respond, "...distraught. He suffered a minor concussion and he's a little off. I'm going to check on him now." She walked to the door leading off the main room and down the hall that led to Robin's room. "Robin?" She knocked on the door. There was no response. "Robin?" she asked a little louder, becoming annoyed. Convinced he would not respond she used her powers to open the door. He was perched on the edge of his bed, staring off into space as though not a part of his own body. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I can't let you fall asleep with that head injury."

"Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about." He continued avoiding her eyes.

"Fine. I'll just sit here until I'm convinced you're ok." Raven paused. "Don't even think about trying to leave because this tower is way too easy to navigate if you're a psychic."

He stubbornly refused to acknowledge her further and stoically continued staring.

"Nice." She remarked snidely, "So, when I've got issues with my dad oh I don't know, destroying humanity, I'm supposed to talk about it. But if Robin is in trouble, god forbid anyone offer the same to him. Too good for my help, is that it?" She was intentionally barbing and baiting him in order to help him face these demons of his because she did NOT want to deal with his excess emotions in addition to figuring out her own.

Robin promptly scooted back on the bed and pulled his blankets over his head.

"Wow, we're being so mature about this."

"Shut. Up." Came his muffled voice, thick with pain.

"Robin, is there anyone else you can talk to about this but me?" Raven asked him, the cynical edge gone. "Cy won't get it because he's honestly not human. Beast Boy? I don't even need to dignify that with an explanation. And Starfire, well, she's an alien. For all that she's sweet, she's still clueless." She was practically pleading with him now, "Why can't you talk to me?" She reached out and touched what she assumed was his shoulder under his blanket.

He flinched as she touched him. "You know I can access this memory straight through your mind if you don't want to talk it out," she pointed out to him. Robin threw the covers off and stalked into the corner.

"Stay out of my mind! You have no right to see my thoughts. It was just so... humiliating! That stuff is private!" he roared. Raven balked. This was not the response she was expecting but at least it was something.

"But Robin, I've seen everything already. When I first entered your mind that event was in the forefront. When you thought Slade was here that was the memory that was your biggest fear. I didn't address you about it because I had enough to worry about in keeping you safe and I didn't want to pry. The fact that two years later that still plagues you scares me more than anything else. A year ago he almost got me, remember? I am the one person that can relate," Raven calmly explained. Robin looked taken aback at the information.

"I'd almost forgotten about your birthday," he finally replied.

"Lucky you," Raven grumbled. "_Now_ will you talk?" Raven inquired. Robin seemed hesitant, somewhere between standing his ground and totally giving in. He finally decided to walk back to Raven.

"You have no idea what it was like." Robin croaked. "To be told you're worthless and less than garbage; that your friends were better off without you... The physical pain Slade caused didn't last. But my mind; that's what he messed with..."

At this, Raven instinctively reached out for his hand. "As a matter of fact," she said quietly, "I know exactly what that's like."

"How?" His voice was barely a whisper. Behind his mask, Robin's eyes seemed devoid of life.

"I was a tool for my father. I was literally spawned just to do what he wanted and had no choice but to believe everything he ever told me." She spat, her hatred for her father still a fresh wound even after all that time.

"How did you deal with it?" Robin asked.

"Well, this is where our situations differ. I didn't get raped." He flinched at the word. "But you've just got to face what he told you and see for yourself that all he told you was a lie."

He faltered. "What if he's not wrong though?" Robin clutched Raven's hand like it was his last link to sanity. "You guys could all be here because you pity me. Or you don't trust me to do this on my own."

Raven was perplexed at what to do next. Should she smack him back to reality with her usual batch of sarcasm? But looking at the team leader who always seemed so impervious to harm frightened into near paralysis made her reconsider. "Can I show you how wrong you are?" The words were out of her mouth before she entirely understood what she was going to do.

His silence answered her question for her. Without any hesitation for fear that she would chicken out or he would leave, she closed her eyes and tentatively touched the mental link between them. Robin jumped a little but relaxed a little as images of his friends played through his mind. He too shut his eyes and felt the comfort of the Titans' emotions calming his own fears.

_The Titans at the park, Cy and BB playing Stankball. The Titans out for pizza and laughing at Starfire for drinking mustard. The gratitude of Raven for a friend who came back for her. All echoed with feelings of warmth and affection towards their leader. Their brother. Their friend._

Tears trickled from behind Robin's mask and he surreptitiously wiped them away with his free hand. "Thank you, Rae." He said softly.


	6. Frailty

The other Titans sat in the living room contemplating the situation. "Maybe someone should check on them to make sure everything's ok. Robin's concussion could be potentially serious, could it not?" inquired Starfire.

"Yeah. I hate to admit, but I am slightly worried. Did you see that spill he took? And he's only human!" Beastboy exclaimed.

"Let me handle it." Cyborg walked into the hall leading to the Titan's bedrooms. He approached Robin's room, clanking his robotic feet all the way. 'Guess there won't be any sneaking in for me," he thought with a touch of bitterness. He knocked on the door as gently as possible. "You guys ok in there?" Cyborg questioned. Almost immediately the hooded face of Raven stood in the doorway.

"Everything is just fine." She dead-panned.

"Can I come in?" The question seemed odd coming from Cyborg.

"Fine." Raven replied. The door opened completely and Cyborg stepped into the dimly-lit room. Robin lay on his back on his back on the bed with his right arm blocking his masked eyes from view.

"Hey man, you ok? You took that fall pretty bad." Cy asked, worry creasing half of his brow.

Robin listlessly let his arm. "Yeah. It just feels like I got hit by a Mack truck in the skull." A wry smile quirked his lips.

Relieved, Cyborg let out the breath the had unconsciously been holding. "That's good to hear. Not that you're in pain but- you know..."

"I get the general idea." Robin replied.

"If it's at all ok by you, I'd like to continue some restorative therapy." Raven said solemnly to Cy. Cyborg took the hint and swiftly turned to the door.

"You better keep Bird Boy alive." Cyborg left. Raven turned back to Robin, turning the light off as she crossed the room. She gently placed her hands on his chest and sent a pulse of blue light through his body. She could feel his defined muscles through the tight material of his uniform.

'Now _that's_ what I'm talking about,' a now rather familiar voice said in Raven's head.

'Stop that. I don't want to hear it.' She mentally scolded.

"You know you want to..."

"That's not the point!" Raven snapped hotly out loud.

"What are you talking about?" asked Robin blankly.

She stammered, "Uh, nothing. Don't worry about it." There really should be an on/off switch between the voices in her head and the real world. That sentiment vaguely made her seem crazy. Oh well.

"You're finished." Raven removed her hands quickly from Robin's body. "You can sleep now. See you in the morning." She turned and left the room before Robin could react.

Raven lay sleeping quietly in her room, her other 'selves' holding her hostage in her sleep.

"Just do something already," Lust pleade3d.

"No," came Raven's reply, "I won't. It could endanger..."

"Haven't you been listening?" Love cried. "If you don't do something soon, I _will_ start using your powers to force you to do something about Robin." The speech had not fallen on deaf ears.

"And what exactly would you have me do?"

"Well, there are a few positions I've been dying to see in action..."

"WHAT?!" Raven cried in horror at Lust's suggestion.

The dream changed.


	7. In Dreams

Beast Boy sat contentedly at the kitchen table, happily munching on a strip of bacon. Cyborg was doing an exuberant dance of victory over the green changeling's shoulder, giggling madly with glee. "I got you to eat meeeeeat! I got you to eat meeeeeat!" And Starfire watched with interest from the living room, licking 12 different lollipops in alternating turns. Robin swung from the ceiling, he was a monkey, much like he had been under Mumbo's spell.

...

What the hell?

At this Raven sat bolt upright in her bed, brow furrowed with confusion. "That was the most random dream I have ever had. And I've had a lot. Why am I talking to myself?"

She picked up her clock, and seeing that it read 5:15, snuggled back into her bed for at least another hour or so of sleep. Or so she thought.

"Titans! Meet on the roof for an early morning training exercise! You have 5 minutes!"

With a groan the little grey girl hauled herself upright and out of her room. There was no point in showering yet if she was just going to get sweaty again. She was still rather sleepy and rather then expend energy walking now, decided to float down the hall.

Passing by Starfire's room, the door was open and Rae flinched at the overabundance of pink contained in one small space. 'Love would be in paradise here' she thought, and not for the first time. Star was combing her hair and humming what on Tamaran would have been considered a song. "Starfire, are you ready?" Raven asked, "I was heading up to the roof-"

"Just one moment, friend Raven!" Star beamed happily. "I shall join you!" The orange girl bounced over and enveloped her in a hug. She paused at the somber expression on Rae's face. "Is there something the matter? You seem this day much more melancholy than is normal."

Raven bit her lip nervously, "Star, I think there's something wrong with Robin."

Green eyes glowed with sudden comprehension, "The fight, is Robin still hurt?"

"He hit his head pretty hard, I think he gave himself a concussion."

"What is 'concussion'?"

With a sigh, Rae explained, "It's another word for a head injury."

"Oh."

"Just, watch out for him today during training? I don't want him hurting himself anymore than he probably will." She rolled her eyes. "That boy should still be in bed resting, but he's being his typical idiotic self on this one."

Starfire nodded. "I know that which you mean. I shall keep my eyes on him more securely than a Bafernang to a Glorpustle."

"...Right. Let's go get the boys up."

Moving further down the hall, Rae knocked on Cyborg's door. His room, she knew, was a labyrinth of coils and wires and more technology than a simple girl from Azarath would know what to do with. But it was also part gym, where he would train even after sessions were over. She pressed the button and spoke into the speaker, "Hey Cy, are you ready?"

"Commin' Rae." His deep voice boomed through the static.

Meanwhile, Star had begun knocking on Beast Boy's domain; a mess no Titan had dared yet try and conquer. "Beast Boy! It is time to begin the training! Beast Boy!"

A series of muffled grunts and moans from the other side of the door were her only response. What could be discerned as a response, neither girl was sure.

Cyborg stepped out of his room with a clank. "Anyone have an idea as to why the one of us who should be in bed is the first one out of his?"

"Dude, I wish I knew." Beast Boy yawned, stretching in a very feline manner as his door shut behind him. "I'm going to need a nap later."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Well, let's not keep the Bird Boy waiting." And with a twirl of her cape, she floated towards the stairs. The others looked at each other and shrugged at the notion that the usually anti-physical activity girl was the first one to training.

Robin was already sitting at the controls of the training machine, adjusting the settings on the targets and machinery. When he saw his teammates, a crooked grin spread across his face. Now _that_ was more like the Robin she knew! Her grey cheeks flushed with pink with delight at the sight of Robin behaving like, well, Robin. "Let's get started, shall we?" He asked, pressing the button that left no choice but to begin running.

Within a few minutes, Beast Boy was grasped within the claws of a robotic arm and no matter what animal he shifted into, he couldn't escape. "Guys, a little help?" He pleaded.

The others were each preoccupied with some problem of their own. "What do you want us to do about it?" Cyborg shouted, grappling with a chainsaw that had a mind of its own.

"Just make it STOP!" Beast Boy screamed, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" He squirmed as hard as he could, but couldn't break free.

As Raven deflected an energy blast, her heart sank at the familiarity of those words. While she hadn't uttered them, she knew who had. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Robin stop dead in his tracks, barely missing a large squadron of flying bombs. He seemed to be trembling.

"I think we've had enough for today." She said, her quiet voice carrying through the chaos.

Robin blinked, and she wasn't quite sure if he had heard her or not. "Yeah," he said dazedly, "Yeah, um, let's call it a day." He pulled a remote control out of his utility belt and shut off the equipment. Beast Boy was unceremoniously dropped to the floor, where he rubbed his aching ribs gratefully.

"Thanks, dude." He gasped. "That was really starting to hurt."

He stared at the other boy silently for a moment. Then, without another word, Robin ran down the stairs into the Tower.

"What's wrong?" Cyborg whispered to Raven.

She turned to him with a frown, "What makes you think I would know?"

"You're the only one he can talk to right now, I assumed you'd know."

"Hmph. Well, I'm not his keeper. If you want to find out what's bothering him, I'd say go ask him yourself." Raven knew that Robin wouldn't willingly confess his demons to his teammates, wishing to protect them from his so-called 'weakness'. But he would make up some story that Cyborg would believe, and she would have to spend more time coaxing it out of him. It was more work for her, but if it helped him, then she didn't really care.

The remaining Titans made their way downstairs. The sun had already risen, so there was little point in heading back to bed, although Beast Boy looked like he might fall asleep on his feet. It was probably too much video-gaming and not enough sleep, Raven decided.

Starfire and Cyborg had just started discussing possibilities for a nice big breakfast, when Raven came to a sudden stop on the stairs.

"Hey-!" Cy said in surprise, "Watch your step Rae, somebody might get hurt."

"I think someone already has." Raven replied, her voice breaking. As the other Titans looked down, in the corner of the stairwell was Robin. Sprawled like a bird that had flown headlong into a window, he was unconscious, and no one could ignore the tracks of tears on his cheeks from beneath his mask.

Raven extended her hand and gently grasped his shoulder. "Robin...?" She whispered.


	8. Concrete Confessional

That single touch sent a spasm through Robin's whole body and he jerked to his feet in a panic.

"Robin, it's ok," Raven said soothingly. She tentatively tapped into the mental link between them, '_He's not here. Nothing is going to hurt you.'_

He struggled to pull his mantle of authority around him. "Guys, you've earned a nice breakfast. I'll be down in a minute, I'm fine, really."

Cy arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Right. Passing out the morning after you get a concussion means that you're totally fine."

Beast Boy added, "You know what 'fine' stands for, right?"

Star blinked. "I don't understand."

"Freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional." Cy explained with a wry grin on the human half of his face.

The Boy Wonder glared. "Just forget about this and I'll meet you downstairs."

Raven linked to him again and said silently, '_Robin, you need to tell them the truth.'_

_'But, I can't. If I tell them... I won't be their leader anymore. How could they respect me after that?'_ He casually dusted off his uniform, his shaking hands the only betrayal his body allowed.

She felt his emotional pain building to a boil and quickly sent feelings of calm and security to envelope him. '_You're wrong. Let them in. Trust them.' _Raven wasn't entirely sure if he had heard her because there was a long moment of silence with all of the Titans exchanging puzzled glances. But she realized that he had when he let out a deep breath.

"There's something I need to talk to you guys about." Robin said softly. His fists were clenched at his sides now and he swallowed nervously.

Cy softened his expression, "Hey buddy, we're here for ya. We've just been waiting for you to say somethin'."

"Do you remember when I was Slade's apprentice?"

Star nodded, "Who could forget?"

"Come on, dude. It's ok." Beast Boy added.

Raven stayed by him, continuously feeding him support and encouragement. '_See? What did I tell you?'_

Robin continued, "Well, he took something from me."

"What?" Cy yelped. "Like Titans' technology? Blueprints of the Tower?"

"No, no." He chuckled weakly.

"What did Slade take from you?" asked Starfire.

"My virginity."

Beast Boy snickered. "No, seriously, what did he take?"

The Boy Wonder said, "I was serious." All of the teenagers grew quiet at that. "Slade... Slade raped me. To try and make me submit to him."

"Holy shit," Cyborg breathed. He fell back on the stairs and clanked his metallic butt on the concrete steps. "I don't believe this... Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

The alien girl's green eyes glowed with a moment of profound realization. "This would explain why you were so obsessed with capturing the Slade would it not? Because of what he did to you." She stated as comprehension dawned on the others as well.

"I was afraid." Robin shrugged. "I thought you wouldn't want me to be your leader if I couldn't handle it on my own."

"No one should handle something like that on their own." Beast Boy murmured, "I know what it's like to hold that kind of pain inside, Robin. You shouldn't have to." The green boy tentatively reached out to grasp his leader's shoulder.

Raven spoke aloud for the first time during the conversation. "We're always here for you, Robin. I told you that how many times?"

He narrowed his eyes at her through his mask and did something incredibly childish. He stuck out his tongue. The entire team dissolved into insane giggles.

"I thought I was the comic relief." Beast Boy pouted, "Looks like I might have to watch out now. My position is in jeopardy!"

Cyborg grinned. "How about some pancakes?"

"So wait, you're not mad? And you don't hate me? Or want me to step down?" Robin asked quizzically.

"No. And if there aren't anymore pointlessly dumb questions from the peanut gallery, I'm hungry." Raven began floating down the stairs and the rest of the Titans followed amusedly.

Robin caught up with her first and in an unexpected gesture of affection grabbed her hand and squeezed it. _'Thanks. It, it feels good not to be holding all that inside alone. And, were you helping me? I felt you inside my mind.'_

_'I was just... Well, I guess you could say I was encouraging you.' _She smiled a little.

_'Well, thanks. I don't think I could have done it without you.'_

_'Of course you couldn't. That's why you keep me around, Bird Brain.'_

_'Ah, the insults are back.'_

_'Did they ever leave?'_

The rest of the Titans couldn't figure out why the other two members were so quiet.

"Weirdos." Beast Boy remarked.


	9. Unexpected Contact

A/N: Sorry the last chapter was a little short. Here's another chapter to make it up to you! Enjoy!

The Titans sat down eagerly to breakfast. It didn't take much to encourage the teenagers to eat, so an early morning training session provided enough of an excuse to merit a large meal. Beast Boy and Cyborg were absorbed in preparing enough pancakes to feed a small army. Starfire sipped the maple syrup delicately and remarked on its sweetness. In short, it was peaceful.

Robin sat down at the table with a sigh, resting his head on his hands. Raven looked on at the situation, the serenity of the whole thing, made her uncomfortable. Her head started reeling, she felt flustered as a flush started creeping up her cheeks. Power surged out of her hands toward Robin, dragging her to him. She tried to fight her power's new found will and failed, crashing into an unsuspecting Robin. She had tumbled into his lap and over the other edge of the chair. He stared at her in confusion, his brain trying but ultimately failing to process what just occurred. The crash did not go unnoticed by the others.

"Raven, what the hell happened?" inquired Cyborg, looking on in confusion at his normally graceful teammate.

"Nothing, I just tripped. I'm tired, that's all," Raven spit out excuses in fast succession. She straightened up as though she had been shocked by a tazer and brushed off her leotard, attempting to look dignified. "I just need to meditate." She teleported to her room to try to sort out what had just happened. She calmed herself and reached into her mind. 'What was that all about?' Raven asked the most prevalent emotion, Love. 'Why would you do that to me?'

Love responded with a touch of glee in her voice, 'I must admit that I was impressed by that little scene in the stairwell. Talking mind to mind? How very touching.' Raven continued to fume in silence.

'You still didn't answer my question.'

'I just wanted to show you what I'm capable of. That was just a taste of what you'll get if you don't start showing Robin how you feel.'

'Why me?' Raven deadpanned to her counterpart. She broke the trance and went back into the main room to join the others for breakfast.

"Are you okay?" asked Robin, looking at her with a combination of concern and exhaustion.

"Yes, I am fine. My defenses were just weak from the events of this morning." She took a seat at the table with the team. Cyborg had consented to allow Beast Boy to have his own tofu pancakes.

"Hey BB, it's your turn for dishes," Cy motioned toward the plate still on the table. "I'll be right back. Rae, could you come with me for a sec?" His eye glinted with mischief.

"Look, Cy, if this is about earlier, my powers are fine now. I've got it under control," she said, feeling slightly insulted. Cyborg just answered with one eyebrow raised and a slightly threatening look. "Fine," she consented.

Raven looked back at Robin who was back to resting on the table. Star was helping Beast Boy with the dishes. Raven followed Cyborg into the corridor leading to the rooms of the Titans.

"What are we doing?" Raven asked, still unsure of the motives Cyborg had.

"I think Robin needs to get out of here for a while. He needs help." Cyborg dropped the conversation there as they reached his door. Once inside, Cyborg went to the computer in the corner. "And there's only one person I can think of who could help us."

Raven was curious. "Who were you planning to contact?"

"Batman."

"Batman?!" Raven exclaimed. Calling the Dark Knight wasn't something to do on a whim. The little goth girl harbored a great amount of respect for the vigilante and was definitely nervous about the consequences of calling him. It wasn't like calling your mom to drop off your gym suit at school. This was THE Batman.

Cyborg hushed her. "Shhh!" He furtively checked the door to make sure that no one heard. "Look, I've been thinking about calling him for awhile now. What Robin told us today just kind of sealed the deal."

"I am in no way, shape, or form responsible for what happens if Batman gets irritated." She waved her hands conclusively. "But I agree. That boy needs a vacation."

Cyborg added. "I think we could ALL use a vacation. That's why I already talked to Speedy over at Titans East. If everything goes according to my plan, they'll be taking over our duties at Jump City for a week."

She rolled her eyes. "Since when do you create plans?"

"Shut your mouth, girl." He chuckled. "Now be quiet, I'm going to call him on the video screen."

"Won't that show up in the living room?"

"Not unless I tell it to." Cyborg replied smugly.

Raven sighed. "Alright. Have at it. I'm going to wash the dishes."

"BB was taking care of those." He frowned.

"I don't trust him with dishes. He probably just licked them clean."

Cyborg shuddered. "Nasty. Yeah, why don't you do that?"

She grinned and teleported back into the kitchen. Robin was currently dozing on the couch, Beast Boy in cat form sleeping on the back. Raven smiled at the home-y appearance of the scene in front of her. Starfire must have gone back to her room, and closing her eyes, Raven sensed that she was correct. The alien was feeding Silky some concoction that the grey girl had no desire to learn the origins of.

She found one of her favorite books of poetry on the coffee table and slid to the end of the couch to read as to not disturb the two nappers.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last for long.

"ROBIN." Batman's voice boomed throughout the living room as he appaeared on their video screen.

Raven said wryly, "He's sleeping. Not dead. Or deaf." Then she colored, realizing just what she had said and to whom she had said it.

The Boy Wonder shot up and immediately got to his feet. "Sir!" He barked as he jumped to attention.

Batman's cowled face made an expression that in a less serious individual could have been construed as a smile. "At ease, kiddo. I've got something to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"It's been too long since I've seen you. And since when have any of you hoodlums have had anything like parental supervision?"

"It's been awhile, sir." Raven piped up before quickly apologizing. "Sorry."

"You must be Raven. That sarcasm gives it away." Batman observed.

Raven suddenly found the floor fascinating. "It's nice to meet you, sir." She mumbled.

Robin added, "Excuse her. We've had kind of a crazy morning."

"So I've heard."

"From who?"

At that, Cyborg came into the living room with a guilty laugh. "Me."

"What?" He exclaimed. "Why did you call Batman?"

Batman said, "He was worried about you, Dick. And after what he told me, I'm worried too." His voice took on a tone of parental reproach, "I can't believe you didn't come to me."

"I didn't want to bother you." Robin had never seemed so young, as childlike as he did in that moment.

"In any case," the older superhero continued, "I've decided that you're going to spend some time away to just relax."

"But what about-"

"Your team is coming with you."

"Then who-"

"Titans East can look after Jump City for a week."

"But-"

"Robin, do you really think I'd leave any loose ends?"

"Not really, but sir-"

"Good. It's settled. Alfred will have your rooms ready tomorrow." And with that, the Dark Knight disappeared.

A few seconds of stunned silence followed. Then,

"Dick?" Beast Boy giggled with fiendish delight.


	10. Doldrums and Dresses

A/N: Here's another long chapter for you all! I think the longest thus far, actually. Wow. Anywho, enjoy!

After an eventful morning, the Titans headed off to their rooms to begin packing for their 'vacation'. Raven was done well before anyone else. She owned little in the way of clothing; a few spare leotards and some over-sized t-shirts for sleeping in and that was pretty much it. She had time to meditate, write in her journal, drink a cup of tea, and read 3 chapters in the trashy romance novel she kept hidden under her bed. And still the others weren't done yet. And it was only a little after 1 o clock in the afternoon.

Her boredom reached its zenith and she burst out of her room, desperate to do something, talk to someone. 'Have I developed an ADD personality?' She asked herself, only half-joking. 'That would be just beyond cruel.'

Raven's first stop was Robin's room. She knocked on the shiny metal doors and waited impatiently for some sign of life in that room. The spiky-haired boy stuck his head out the door curiously, "Raven," He said in surprise, "What's up?"

"I'm bored." She said flatly. "And that scares me. I feel like I'm turning into Beast Boy"

Robin chuckled. "Well, you can watch me pack if you want something to do."

"I'm thrilled by the prospect." Raven replied dryly. The two teens disappeared beyond the sliding metal doors. He resumed sitting on the floor in front of a massive red suitcase, sorting through several large piles of clothing. The boy had more clothes than she did, and Raven wasn't exactly sure that was normal.

She sat gingerly on his bed, growing aware that this was a boy's room. Robin's room. Where he slept. The other occasions where she had been in his room hadn't provided the opportunity to fully appreciate the fact that she was comfortably enjoying being alone in a room with the opposite sex. That was odd.

'Welcome to the Robin's Nest!' Lust cackled with glee inside her head.

"Shut up!" She hissed at herself, recalling all too vividly the novel to which her other self was referring.

Robin sat up on his heels, "Did you say something?"

"No."

"Ok." Robin said skeptically. "You did pack everything you're bringing, right?"

Raven raised an eyebrow sardonically, "Yes, Dick."

Robin stared at her, "I'm rolling my eyes. You can't tell, but I am."

"Whatever." Raven smirked. "I threw in my spare leotards and capes and I was ready to go."

The Boy Wonder cocked his head quizzically, "What about civilian clothes?"

"I don't own any." She stated matter-of-factly. "Fashion wasn't a concern in Azarath, so I never really cared when I came here either."

Tossing a pair of dark blue jeans into his suitcase, Robin pointed out, "We're going to visit as civilians. We've got to be incognito."

"Why?" Raven asked.

"Wouldn't it look odd to the press if the Teen Titans spent a week at Bruce Wayne's mansion? Think about it. It'll draw less attention if it's his ward coming home from boarding school with some friends for a visit."

Whistling, Raven crossed her legs into a lotus pose. "Between the two of you, I can't tell who plans everything more."

"Oh, Bruce does." Robin held up a t-shirt and gazed at it with scrutiny. "Hands down. The man knows how to cover any situation."

"It's amazing that he trusts us this much."

"If I can vouch for you, he'll trust you."

Raven was impressed. "That's a lot of faith he's got in you."

"Yeah." Robin smiled a little. Then he laughed, "That was an effective topic change. Very well done."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." Raven studied her fingernails delicately.

Closing his suitcase, Robin stood and joined her on the bed. "Look, if you don't have any other clothes besides your uniforms, then we've got a problem."

"Really? Because I think we don't."

"You really don't have any other clothes? I find that hard to believe."

"Think about it, Bird Brain. Have you ever seen me in anything other than a leotard?"

Robin muttered under his breath, "I wish."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," He replied innocently. "We've just got some shopping to do."

Raven's eye twitched. "Forgive me if I'm not the poster child of joy right now."

"I'll get the others." Robin smirked evilly. "I'm sure they'd love to take you shopping too."

She countered, "But I don't have money."

"But I've got our team's bank account number." Robin said triumphantly, "Do you really think I spend every cent of my allowance from Bruce on birdarangs?"

She rubbed her temples, "This is going to be a long afternoon." Raven groaned.

He didn't hear her. Robin was already at the door, speaking into the intercom. "Titans, we've got an important mission to accomplish this afternoon."

Cyborg's voice was heard, "Aw, man! We're supposed to be going on vacation tomorrow. Can't we get a pre-vacation break?"

"This is no ordinary mission. This is Operation Get Raven Real Clothes Because She Has An Unhealthy Thing For Leotards."

"Dude, now that's more like a mission!" Beast Boy's voice exclaimed joyfully.

"Shall we go to the mall of shopping?" Inquired Starfire's voice.

"Meet at the T-Car in 5 minutes." Robin authoritatively ended the conversation.

"I hate shopping." Raven grumbled. "Leotards are just easy."

The Teen Titans stood in the middle of Jump City's mall, Cyborg with one hand on her cloak so she couldn't bolt or phase away.

"Too bad," Robin said, not taking his eyes from the directory. "It looks like there are some promising stores on the second floor."

"I shall help friend Raven!" Starfire said excitedly, "I love the trying on of many Earth clothes!"

The little goth girl looked like she was turning green from nausea as her friends steered her into a department store. Each Titan went to find something for Raven and she was under strict orders not to move from the dressing rooms.

Starfire proudly presented her with a bright pink floral sundress and matching pink pumps. And handbag. And hat. Needless to say, that went over like a bull entering a china shop.

Beast Boy handed her his outfit over the dressing room door.

"Beast Boy, this is a leopard print bikini."

"Exactly!"

The aforementioned item of clothing was promptly hurled back over into his face.

Cyborg had the best luck of them thus far. He handed her faded jeans and a Transformers t-shirt. While the bright, primary colors of the shirt offended her every sense of being, the jeans fit relatively well.

But Robin was the one who seemed to know exactly what she wanted, even if she didn't have a clue. A black dress shirt and flats went perfectly with Cyborg's jeans. Raven turned slightly pink as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked almost normal.

"This works." She called over the door. "Can we go now?"

"That's one outfit." Robin negated, "You need at least seven if we're going to be staying a week."

"Something most beautiful!" added Starfire.

"And something to swim in!" Beast Boy chimed in.

"You are a little perv, dude." Cyborg rounded on him, and it sounded like he was giving the changeling a rather impressive noogie.

"No, he's right." Robin said mischievously, "Bruce has an Olympic sized pool in the North Wing."

On the other side of the door, Cy stared open-mouthed at Robin. He whispered, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

"That Bruce has a pool?" Robin asked blandly.

"I hate you all." Was Raven's only reply.

Two hours later the Titans left the mall laden with several large bags of clothing. They were all in high spirits and enjoying teasing Raven about the various articles she had tried on over the course of the afternoon.

"I was rather disappointed you did not buy that bra of black lace." Starfire commented with a shake of her head.

At that, Robin stared at Raven incredulously. "You? In black lace? That's almost cliché."

"Oh believe me, it is." She did however turn a traitorous shade of pink. "Everyone thinks that goths only like black. I'm not even really that goth. I did buy clothes in a wide variety of colors after all."

"If by wide variety, you mean blues and purples." Cyborg pointed out.

"I thought that one red dress was nice though." Robin commented off-handedly. "Why didn't you get it?"

Beast Boy accused, "You only liked it because it was almost as obnoxiously red as your uniform."

"Not true." He replied simply. Robin quickly winked at Raven, who wasn't entirely sure if she imagined it.

The rest of the night passed peacefully, and the Teen Titans went to their beds exhausted but excited for what the next day would bring.


	11. Security Nightmares

**A/N: Sorry about the lengthy delay in updates! Here's a little something to whet your appetites for more! And PS, we still don't own anything. Although Bruce would be nice...**

At 4:30 in the morning, an obnoxiously chipper and awake Robin blared over the intercom system, "Rise and shine Titans! We have a long day ahead of us." He practically trilled the last, at which Raven responded with an indignant grunt into her pillow.

About 10 minutes later the teenagers trudged into the living room trailing their large and, in Beast Boy's case, overstuffed luggage. "How are you so damn cheerful?" Cyborg grumbled at Robin who was whistling over a cup of coffee.

"Caffeine." The Boy Wonder chuckled. "I'll be half-dead on the plane, I promise."

"Good. Because otherwise I'll have to kill you." Raven stated blandly.

Beast Boy pouted, "I like this hyper Robin. Don't kill and/or maim him please?"

Starfire just looked on in bewilderment, clutching her large pink teddy bear. Or what passed for a teddy bear on Tamaran.

"Let's get to the airport already," Raven impatiently barked from the hallway as Cyborg reached for his projection rings. He hadn't used them since his mission at the Hive Academy and was excited to be traveling incognito. Robin herded the half-conscious Starfire out the door and into the T-car.

An hour and a half later the Titans sat down at their gate, waiting on the plane to the East coast. Beast Boy turned to the disguised Cyborg, "Security with you is a nightmare. Remind me never to fly with you again."

"Yeah, we're just lucky the security guard got as fed up with the wand as you did," Raven deadpanned with just a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Shut up. I just want my complimentary peanuts and soft drink, so I can catch up on my beauty rest." The cyborg growled.

"You need it." Robin teased.

Cyborg arched an eyebrow. "I'll get you for that later, you spiky haired punk."

A now fully awake Starfire took the opportunity to voice her opinion on being clad in more than handkerchief sized material. "Why must Earth clothing be so constrictive?" She poked at the buttons on her blouse in disgust, "I want only to be back in my own uniform."

"Not until we come home Star. We're incognito this whole trip." Robin shrugged apologetically.

"For once, I agree with the spaz. I still don't like being dressed in… this." She waved half-heartedly at her outfit of a blazer and jeans.

Beast Boy giggled. "It is a sad change to see you two all covered up. I miss it." The green boy (who was currently buried under countless layers of foundation to hide his complexion) found himself being swatted repeatedly with the latest issue of US Weekly that Raven happened to find on the seat next to her. "Alright! Alright!" He yelped. "No more comments about your slutty uniforms-OWWW!" That earned him a blow with a hardcover Edgar Allen Poe anthology from Starfire. Beast Boy pulled up the hood of his back hooded sweatshirt and pumped up the volume on his iPod while muttering about girls being teases. Robin snickered under his breath and leaned back against the seat, allowing his sunglasses to disguise his closed eyes.

"Robin, the plane has arrived," Starfire was poking him awake as their boarding numbers were called. Robin sat up and rubbed his eyes under his glasses and grabbed his carry-on, joining his teammates in line. Once aboard the plane, the team drifted off to sleep one by one as they leveled off.

On the ground in Gotham City Airport, Alfred waited to greet the Titans in baggage claim holding a little sign with "Rowdy Teenagers" written in black marker, his idea of a clever joke. The Titans, still groggy from the flight, piled into the limo parked out front, and drove to Wayne Manor.

"This place is even more impassive in person. Sheesh Robin, you're loaded!" Beast Boy exclaimed, gesturing grandly to the sweeping lawn of the estate.

"Stuff it BB," Robin rolled his eyes as he grabbed his bags from the trunk and headed to the door.

"May I say again Master Richard how wonderful it is to have you back at the manor?" Alfred asked fondly as he grabbed the last of the bags and followed the group into the house.

Robin smiled, "You can, and you have, several times, Al."

"Well, some things bear repeating." Alfred said with a sniff.

The pace of the teens actually making it to the door could only be described as slower than molasses on a frozen day in January. After about 5 minutes and only several feet to claim as progress, Raven rolled her eyes and levitated the bags with a muttered "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Alfred blinked rapidly as he was divested of the bags and they floated neatly into the foyer. "Well. One doesn't see that every day."

"We do." Beast Boy remarked offhandedly.

"Rae, no powers while outside." Warned Robin, "You never know who could be watching the Manor."

"Master Bruce does." Alfred offered.

Robin sighed. "Thanks Al. Not helping me prove my point."

"My apologies, sir. Shall I inform Master Bruce of your arrival?"

"He already knows." Echoed a new voice. In the cacophonous foyer appeared a figure at the top of a large set of stairs. A tall, dark and sveltely dressed man began the trek down to meet them, commenting "As Dick may or may not have told you, I tend to have my eyes on quite a few things."

"B-B-B-Batman?" Beast Boy stammered, for once completely star-struck and at a loss for intelligent sounding words.

"Call me Bruce." The Dark Knight smiled wryly, "This week will be even more awkward if you insist on calling me that in polite company."

Raven smirked, "And Beast Boy is anything but polite."

"Ah," Bruce turned his attention to the rapidly coloring goth girl. "Raven. It's a pleasure to meet you in person. It's not often that I meet a person with a similar sense of humor."

"What sense of humor?" Cyborg muttered.

"The dry, sarcastic and often caustic kind." Bruce replied blandly.

Robin stepped forward and folded his arms in mock indignation, "What, no greeting for the prodigal side-kick/young ward?"

There was a pause in which neither seemed to know exactly what to do. They started to move towards potentially hugging one another, but rapidly made the decision to have a hearty and manly handshake instead.

"Is that a customary greeting…?" Starfire asked curiously before ducking to avoid a projectile duffel bag courtesy of Raven's powers.

The Titans quickly made the decision to go to their rooms and unpack after a certain amount of persuasion, or really, Raven abusing her powers to move her teammates against their will to give Robin and Bruce some time to sort out their initial awkwardness.

"I shall show the others to their rooms." Alfred recovered graciously, "Your old rooms will suffice, I presume Master Richard?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, thanks Al."

Bruce tousled his spiky hair tentatively and the two began heading towards some unknown rooms that the Titans wouldn't even begin to remember how to navigate.


	12. Like Father, Like Son

**Sorry about the delay in updates! Here's something to recapture your interests! And, nope, the Teen Titans still are not in my possession!**

Raven was pleasantly surprised at the gloomy dark atmosphere of the room provided for her. Alfred had told her with a pleasant smile that he had been under orders to make sure the rooms were to each Titans tastes. She told him with a shy smile of her own that he had succeeded.

"Dinner will begin in five minutes, miss. Dress for the night is formal," Alfred said as he bowed out of the room.

'I might as well get ready for dinner now…' Raven started levitating articles of clothing out of her bags and attempting to piece together an outfit.

_Five minutes later…_

The Titans entered the extravagant dining hall centered around a large mahogany table capable of seating twenty people easily. Beast Boy sported a blue polo, a pair of khakis and a lot of cover-up as he took his seat next to Starfire in a pink sundress. Cyborg and Raven sat opposing Star and BB. Cyborg, in his "Stone" holograph, wore a pale-blue dress shirt and black dress pants, leaned in to Raven, clad in a black halter-top dress, and asked, "Have you seen the size of the bathrooms here? They're huge!"

"Cyborg, I have been here ten minutes and have yet to see a bathroom. No." Once she finished that remark, Robin, sans mask, entered wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt and black tie at the opposite end of the room that Bruce entered, wearing similar attire, save his shirt was blue. Robin and Bruce sat at the heads of the table. Two staff members entered carrying plates of food for the group, gently setting a plate down in front of each person. Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy remained still, unsure as to the etiquette expected of them. They all watched Robin closely for reference as he placed his napkin in his lap and picked up his utensils delicately. Raven and Cyborg managed this easily, but Starfire launched her napkin across the room trying to unfold it and had to retrieve it quickly. Beast Boy, intimidated by the sheer amount of silverware in front of him, started trying to eat his salad with a shrimp fork and was stabbing ruthlessly at the lettuce leaves. Robin started laughing quietly at the changeling's antics, earning him stares from his entire team as they had not heard him laugh for several days. Robin cleared his throat and blushed slightly at the looks he was receiving, quickly looking down and focusing intently on his plate.

"Having a bit of trouble there, Mr. Logan?" Bruce asked dryly, causing BB to blush horrendously. "Don't worry about it. I never know which fork is which anyway, Alfred usually just hits me to make me remember. Since you're too far away to hit, I would suggest the second fork on your left."

"Th-thank you, Mr. Wayne." Gar stammered. "And, you can call me Gar. My dad was Mr. Logan."

"And my dad was Mr. Wayne. Call me Bruce, please. That goes for all of you." He turned his gaze to the other adolescents at the table who nodded mutely.

Starfire piped up, "This food is quite delicious Bruce. Of what may I ask are we eating?"

"Escargot."

"That is… some form of animal?"

"Snails to be precise." The Dark Knight was bemused and couldn't hide the curve of his lips.

The alien tilted her head as she examined the plate in front of her with that new information in mind. She then proceeded to heartily finish consuming everything on her plate.

Once the ice had been broken, dinner went much more smoothly than anticipated, and a surprising amount of fun was had by all. Once the plates had all been cleared and Beast Boy was attempting to extract a piece of carrot from his teeth (to no avail), Bruce stood up from his seat and addressed the Titans.

"I hope you all enjoyed dinner. If you'll all excuse me, I must have a chat with my former ward." With that statement Robin rose from his chair, not meeting anyone's eyes, and followed Bruce out of the dining room. The other four Titans looked at each other curiously until Alfred arrived to show them back to their rooms.

Bruce had taken Robin into the study, a room of dark wood and shelves upon shelves of books. Three dark green arm chairs were arranged in a circle by the stone fireplace, the same way they had several years ago when Alfred would join Dick and Bruce for strategic conversations until three in the morning. Robin swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and sat down.

Bruce uncorked a bottle of brandy and poured two glasses, offering one to Dick who accepted and sipped the liquor. Bruce sat across from Robin and took a swig of his brandy.

"I can't believe it took you this long to tell me. How could you hide this for so long?" Bruce tried to soften his expression at the end of his sentence, noticing for the first time how tense he was about this conversation.

Robin stared at the floor and took another sip of his drink before answering.

"To say I was embarrassed would be an understatement, Bruce."

"How long ago did this happen, Dick?"

Robin once again hesitated before answering. The truth was that he had a very accurate count of how long it had been, down to the day. "Um, about four years since the first time."

"The first time? What do you mean the first time?" Bruce leaned in and was getting agitated. Very agitated.

Robin knew he had just made this harder on himself. "Well, the first time he…he…had his way with me was when I was his apprentice. He made me give up my Robin uniform and put on one of his own design. Once I had my old costume off, well, you can guess what happened. I was thirteen for crying out loud!"

"Richard, I'm so sorry, but you alluded to other…times. Don't be shy; you know you can trust me."

"There was another time when we had Terra on our team. When she betrayed us, Slade got me as a "present". Other then that, there was the reagent in the mask we had that made me feel him beating me like he used to. That kind of messed with my head. That was a couple months ago, before we went to Tokyo." Robin finally looked up, slowly, trying to gauge his mentor's reaction.

Bruce rubbed his chin with his hand and polished off his brandy and poured himself another. He was in complete shock that all of this had happened to Richard. But what really hit him the hardest was the fact that all of this happened without Richard coming to him for help. He had been a father to the boy, taken him in because he knew all the pain that came with being an orphan. Bruce wanted to make sure the Dick was spared from that kind of emotional pain. But it seemed that he had found that pain on his own.

"I'm so sorry." He said quietly. "I wish…"

Dick's voice faltered, "B-Bruce, this isn't your fault."

"And it's not your fault either." Bruce stated baldly. "You're making yourself a martyr when you have friends who are willing to sacrifice anything to make you realize that."

"I don't deserve friends like them." Dick said softly.

Bruce tentatively placed his arm around the boy's shoulders, thinking to himself about how much his young ward had had to grow up in the last few years and the incredible man he was becoming. "But you have them." He pointed out, "And I think they're a great group of kids. You've given everything for them. Let them return the favor and help you heal."

Dick rubbed his eyes surreptitiously. "Thanks Bruce." He whispered.

"Anytime, champ." He playfully ruffled the teenager's hair and chuckled at the Boy Wonder's attempt to fix it. "So," Bruce said, changing topics completely, "I like that Raven girl. Her sense of humor falls right in with my own."

"That sense of humor being ironic, macabre and dry?"

"Let's pretend you lived with me for all those years and knew that."

"Ha ha ha. That's hilarious."

"I may have rubbed off on you too much."

"Nah."


	13. Hangovers and Hooliganism

***A/N: Apologies to you, dear faithful readers, for not beating us senseless with wet noodles for not updating sooner! Hopefully the next chapter won't have such a stupidly long gap before its posting... In any case, enjoy!***

Robin promptly polished off his glass of brandy and was offered a second by Bruce.

"Cheers," Bruce dead-panned as he raised his glass, clinking his with Dick's. Both proceeded to down the full glasses in one swig.

Dick grimaced as he finished his while Bruce carefully considered his empty glass, the expression on his face clearly indicating confusion as to the lack of liquid.

"Goodnight Bruce." Dick raised his empty glass toward Bruce and set it down on the tray on his way up to his room. He stumbled slightly up the stairs; Alfred chuckled lightly while at the foot of the stairs, his traditional place in the background provided easy access should his bosses require anything.

"Sir," Alfred mock-lectured to the man who he had raised as a son, "you ought not to give young Master Dick alcohol that can peel off paint when he is not accustomed to drinking just yet." Bruce shrugged and leaned back into his chair, absently whistling an off-key drinking song while losing himself in his thoughts.

The next morning, Robin felt sunlight beaming through his eyelids and groaned at the throbbing pain it was creating. What on Earth had possessed him to think that any liquor given to him by Bruce would be anything other than lethal? He pulled his duvet up over his head and decided that there was no way that he was getting up in the next few hours.

Unfortunately for the Boy Wonder, the schedule of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne did not take adolescent boy hangovers into consideration. He sat up as he heard Alfred blandly knock on his door with a bit more force and volume than necessary. Rather than waiting for the teenager to get out of bed and answer the door himself, Alfred let himself in and intoned in an irritatingly chipper voice, "Good morning, Master Richard! Breakfast is being served and your friends are already downstairs. Master Bruce suggested I come and rouse you myself, as he recalls being a teenager and never wanting to leave his bed." The old man beamed.

"Uggh." Robin grunted monosyllabically.

"I'll tell them that you'll be down momentarily." The butler let himself out, shutting the door loudly behind him. Alfred chuckled to himself. That would teach the young man about properly hydrating while drinking to prevent mornings like this.

Robin felt that Alfred was getting an obvious and unholy amount of pleasure from his discomfort. He threw himself out of bed, hoping that maybe he could have some ibuprofen for breakfast.

All of the Titans were seated down at the table by the time Robin trudged down there. A vast array of cereals, pastries and other breakfast items were proudly on display but the Boy Wonder had little appetite for anything other than a glass of water and medicine at the moment.

"Rough night, huh?" Cyborg chortled while his best friend sent him a look that would curdle milk. Under normal circumstances, the half-robot would have felt guilt. But it was impossible to take Robin seriously while the bags under his eyes made him seem like a whimsically oversized raccoon.

Starfire blinked blankly. "I do not understand, Robin, are you ill?"

"Not quite, Star." Raven's lips were quirked in a half-hearted attempt to smother a smile.

Beast Boy was not as diplomatic as the Goth girl. "Ooooh, somebody's hungoverrrrrr!"

Robin wordlessly took his place at the table, where to his delight he found a personal ibuprofen bottle waiting for him with a tall glass of mineral water. He immediately forgave Alfred for his gratuitous gloating. After a moment, Richard realized that Bruce was not among them. "Where's Bruce?" He queried, "I though he was the one who wanted me downstairs."

Alfred handed the teen a stack of pancakes with an apologetic glance. "Master Wayne was forced to leave earlier than he had expected; some emergency at Wayne Enterprises I believe."

"Oh." Dick was a little disappointed. He had thought that maybe he and his mentor could spend the day together discussing weapons and strategy. Oh well, some other time.

"But," Alfred continued, "Master Wayne did give you all free rein of the manor, minus his cave of course, and said you may request whatever you wish for lunch."

Beast Boy and Cyborg shared a brief glance, quickly pushed in their chairs and scampered off down one of the numerous corridors in search of entertainment. Starfire, who upon arriving at the manor had noticed the lavish and precisely groomed gardens, proceeded out a large glass doors to the back patio. Robin stood silently and, gripping his head, went off to the nearest couch to wait for his headache to subside. Raven deftly glided out of the dining room after Robin in search of the library. 'It's a manor; obviously a library had to be somewhere around here. It would be completely breaking the stereotype,' she thought as she headed down a marble hall.

She came across a set of large suits of armor posted at the entrance to the library and marveled at how cliché that was. Bruce had little imagination, of that she was convinced. He must have been using Edgar Allen Poe novels for the inspiration for his décor.

Raven wandered down the rows of books and could not help noticing the resemblance between this library and the one Knowledge resided over in her mind. She assumed her meditative stance and began chanting. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" Quickly, due to the anomalous level of silence, the walls of books in the library gave way to her mindscape. She began walking down the stone pathway, once again unsure as to what she would find.

She approached an archway, took a deep breath, and strolled through quickly. She had once again found herself in the Hallmark-card explosion that was the realm of Love. The pink and red hearts floating through the air did nothing but irk her as she swatted them away from her face.

"Gotcha!" The maroon-clad version of the goth-girl had jumped her from behind, warranting a six-foot leap from the real Raven.

"Don't EVER do that again!" Raven pulled her hood up as it had fallen off unceremoniously from the jumping. Love gave Raven a slightly resentful look while crossing her arms. "What do you want?" inquired Raven, feeling a little irritated herself.

"I want to know why you have not been taking advantage of a large manor with many private rooms with a certain vulnerable Bird-boy. It's an affront to my very being!"

Raven couldn't argue with that. Love's existence really did result from her suppressing of her feelings for Robin. "It's not that simple. Bruce and the rest of the team have been around, plus I'm not sure now would be a good time."

"Excuses excuses!" Love interrupted with a wave. "He was mildly intoxicated last night. A deaf moose could have heard him stumbling around that manor. Opportunity was literally pounding at the door and yet you still chose to ignore it. Epic failure on your part."

Raven, feeling attacked, responded tersely, "He's dealing with an extremely intense emotional crisis."

"All the more reason for you to be the shoulder to cry on. Take advantage of the situation! Do SOMETHING!"

"Love, your lack of ethics and discretion alarms me."

"That's what I'm here for!" Love twittered about with pleasure.

"I would expect this behavior from Lust, not you," Raven quipped, her eyebrow indicating a level of skepticism rarely seen in any dimension.

"Well, Lust and I _have_ become the best of friends since you've been _completely ignoring us_." Love began ballet dancing away from Raven, moving to the music that existed solely in her maroon-cloaked head.

"Best of friends? Uh oh. She really has to stop corrupting my personality traits." Raven began pondering Lust's stealthy but effective take-over.

"If you don't act on her requests soon, she'll just keep influencing us until Lust has literally taken over every fiber of your being. Imagine Anger getting in on this-you'd probably take out the entire eastern seaboard! Please, for the sake of the world, just jump Robin's bones already!"

Raven just groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "_Why?_" She felt an odd combination of frustration and helplessness.

"Don't ask, just _do,_" Love hummed. Raven suddenly felt herself being yanked from her meditation.

"Raven? Raven? Raven? We require your assistance," Starfire had entered the library and was calling Raven back from within her mind.

"What could be so problematic that you have to interrupt me?" Raven was taking her irritation out on the unsuspecting alien.

"Beast Boy and Cyborg." Raven groaned and followed Starfire quickly out of the room. The two girls reached an ostentatious staircase with polished mahogany handrails that must be the bane of whoever had to oil it. A bleary-eyed Robin had stumbled off of his couch and joined the girls as all three looked to the top of the stairs where Beast Boy and Cyborg were gearing up to race down the railings.

Raven looked over at Robin who seemed to be having a difficult time deciding whether to laugh or put an end to this hooliganism. His decision was made for him as Beast Boy shouted "GO!" Cyborg and BB shot down the banisters at an alarming speed. Beast Boy managed to change into a seagull at the end of the railing and coast off without causing himself harm; however Cyborg could not find an unobtrusive way to slow himself down and was careening toward the wall. Raven, still agitated, deftly waved her hand and created a circular barrier of black magic, which Cyborg crashed into at the full-force of gravity. He slid down to the floor and groaned.

"That's what you get for interrupting my meditation." Raven smiled a bit smugly, just as Alfred came running around the corner.

"What in heaven's name is all this ruckus? Master Bruce would never approve. Master Dick?" Alfred pinned Robin with a stern look.

"Right," Robin gestured for Starfire to pry Cyborg off the floor. "Ummm, Alfred, we'll just get out of the house for a while." With that, the team departed rather sheepishly from the manor.


End file.
